


pearlina week 2020

by blueskieswastaken



Category: Splatoon
Genre: (?), F/F, Multiple times, Not canon-compliant, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, because these lesbians can swim, marriage proposals, pearlina week !!!, reader’s discretion is advised:, they hold hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueskieswastaken/pseuds/blueskieswastaken
Summary: i can Participate.... and participate i shall! pearlina is very important to me (probably) because it’s like the only ship in this fandom that i’m willing to bandwagon on
Relationships: Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)
Kudos: 18





	1. sand and stars

The beach always seemed to give Marina a sense of calm, the kind of feeling that makes her think that nothing can get to her. She’s safe- hell, she can even lay down and take a nap if she wanted to.

There aren’t many things that can give Marina that feeling. For example, she gets the same feeling when Pearl rolls over in bed and snuggles up close to Marina’s chest because she got cold without her girlfriend, or when Pearl cooked breakfast for her when she didn’t feel up to it... 

Actually, when Pearl does anything, Marina feels great. Maybe it’s because she’s seeing this squid in a new light, now that she’s dating her and has been for a few months. The thought still makes her start giggling like a little kid, which in turn makes Pearl start laughing and so on until they’re both laughing so hard their bellies ache. Marina loves her, that much is definitely true, and she’s confident Pearl loves her right back. 

The beach was emptier than usual today, which means this is the perfect day to go down and play in the sand, go for a swim, or dive down and admire all the “pretty little fishies,” as Pearl calls them. She’s being dragged by wrist to the perfect spot, her smaller companion eagerly chatting with her and making it abundantly clear that she’s going to make this the best date Marina’s ever been on... even though she’s made that claim at least two other times on two other dates. 

But Marina rolls her eyes and grins and goes with it, softly chuckling at her girlfriend as she lays down a blanket and stuffs an umbrella into the ground despite the sunset. She wonders what Pearl is trying to achieve with this, other than just making Marina smile, but she has some suspicion that there aren’t any ulterior motives. Not that it’s a bad thing- Marina loves when Pearl does all these stupid things just to make her smile (or better yet, kiss her!) 

When she’s all settled down on the blanket, Marina yawns, laying her head down to stare up at the clouds and take it all in. She remembers the first time she experienced the beach. It was years ago, back when she was just barely sixteen, when Pearl was showing her anything and everything in this brand-new world Marina had broken into. 

At first, she was scared, everything was so new and loud and bright and in an odd language she couldn’t understand. She was alone for weeks... and then Pearl appeared, and all of a sudden everything was okay. She helped Marina adjust, taught her everything she needed to know, let her cry when she needed to. 

There was a soft grunt from Pearl as the small squid flopped down onto the blanket by her girlfriend, looking up at the glittering night sky.

“... Ya ever wonder what the stars looked like before ya showed up here?”

“Mhm. Almost every day, I’d stare up at the sky they showed us on those screens and wonder how beautiful the real thing must be.” 

“Really?”

“Every day.” 

Pearl hums in thought, leaning against Marina’s shoulder and resting her head on her chest with a tiny grin.

With a soft chuckle, Pearl gently taps the tip of Marina’s nose, following it with a trail of soft kisses down her arm.

“Your freckles remind me of the stars, ya know? They make you more beautiful than ya already are... One’a these days, I’m gonna kiss  all of ‘em.”

Pearl lets go of Marina’s elbow for a second, gently nudging her so she was laying down and Pearl could lay on top of her.

“How do you know you haven’t done that already?”

“I don’t. That’s what makes it a goal, to me.”

Marina hums, gently wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and staring up at the stars, closing her eyes and laying her palm on the back of Pearl’s hand. In response, Pearl intertwined her fingers through Marina’s with a small, happy sigh. 

The stars glittered in the sky, and yet Marina’s attention was on the little squid laying on her chest. In her eyes, they were both beautiful, yet right now Pearl is the only one that matters. 

The next morning, Marina wakes up in bed, and she has to wonder if it was all just a dream.


	2. it’s alright, i’m here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> first splatfest

The stage is a place Pearl was accustomed to- she’s been performing on a stage ever since her early music days, way back when she was in a “band” with her brothers. She loves knowing that everyone in the Square was here for her and Marina, who has never been onstage in her life...

Speaking of, Marina was sitting backstage with her necklace in her mouth, a tell-tale sign of worry in the poor octoling. Pearl hums, sits beside her, and gently takes her hand, admiring her girlfriend’s pointed claws.

“... your nails are gettin’ long. You wanna clip ‘em when we get home?”

Marina just hummed her disagreement, so Pearl nodded and gave Marina’s palm a gentle kiss while she moved to lean against her chest. 

“First splatfest. You think you’re gonna win?” 

Marina shrugs, closing her eyes when Pearl came up to gently tug her glasses out of the way and give her a kiss on the cheek. She slightly leans into the kiss, shivering as Pearl tightly hugs her.

“You’re gonna do fine. Stage fright’s terrible, I know, but you can do what you do on air, right? Take off your glasses?” 

A few seconds later, after Pearl had closed her eyes to focus on Marina’s heartbeats pounding throughout her body, she heard the telltale clacking of her plastic frames being folded up and dropped on the little coffee table nearby and felt Marina move to tightly return her hug. 

“You’ll be fine, Marina, I swear. It’s not that scary once you get used to it. I’ll be right there with you.”

Pearl lifted her hand to gently grasp Marina’s arm, which prompted Marina to hug her even tighter. She started to gently scratch Marina’s back, listening to her girlfriend’s hearts begin to slow and her muscles begin to relax at the touch, the comforting feeling of Pearl being so close to her.

When she lets go, she presses her forehead against Pearl’s and kisses her before she goes out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rushed... that’s why it’s so short. was working on it throughout the course of the day, but...


	3. farewell, inkopolis.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this prompt is WAY late and i’m very sorry for that. i wanted to experiment with second-person point of view, so here’s this! deepsea metro prompt, not summertime skies or au.

As you look over the floor of the helicopter, the freezing metal of your laptop pressed flush against your side and the little squid you call your girlfriend (because she is) tightly gripping your elbow, you watch the sea.

You watch the sea churn and spin, and you bite back a gasp, or maybe a scream, when a statue hundreds of times bigger than yourself rises from the tides. You attempt to ignore the incessant pounding of your hearts, the burning tears falling down your cheeks, as you open your laptop and begin tapping away at the keys, your hands and your voice shaking as you shout over the whirring of the blades above you. 

The child (too young, your mind screams) below you gives a single terse nod while you explain the plan to them, all the while you wish everything could be alright. 

Three minutes, you call. Only three? You swear under your breath and wish you got here sooner. You have your hyperbombs primed and ready, and as that child super jumps onto the gigantic statue, you watch them manually detonate each one with a shaky aim. Ink, a bright neon pink that makes you cringe and want to look away when it catches the sunlight, quickly covers and stains the surface of what you can guess to be marble. You smile, though it’s halfhearted, when your girlfriend beside you elbows you and says she’s glad the prototypes work before she returns to warming up her voice. 

You take deep breaths, nervously tapping your foot on the floor whenever that poor kid leaves your line of sight. You worry about them. 

Two minutes. Only two? Again, you growl a curse, this time louder, and again, you wish you arrived sooner, just so they might have more time. This was wrong, this was more than wrong, because the octoling running all over that monument looked just barely fifteen, and you wish you were the one down there covering it in ink. You don’t want them to get hurt, and then there’s the fact that they’re so young... 

You have a feeling you’re getting too attached to them. 

Your girlfriend catches you crying, and again comes to grab your elbow in a comforting grip as you watch the scene unfolding before you. Time seems so slow, what with the threats being placed over your heads, but you’re sure three minutes feels like twenty seconds to that poor child below. Your voice cracks as you encourage the young octoling to keep going. You tell them, with tears in your eyes, that you’re proud of them, and you want them to succeed. 

One minute. Only one? Your mind keeps screaming that they shouldn’t have to go through this. They’re hardly old enough to go outside by themselves, and here they are saving the entire world from a crazy phone. You’re proud of them, and you’re proud to be helping them, because they’re doing so well. You feel regret, wishing they could have had more time, but now isn’t time to dwell on what could be.

Forty-five seconds. Your hearts pound harder than ever before. You grin, sniffling, as you watch them jump between rails and smile at you between detonations. You know for a fact that you’re getting far too attached to them- you can practically feel the maternal instinct kick in. You don’t care. They seem to have gotten equally attached to you.

Thirty seconds. They’re almost finished, and they keep looking at you in the helicopter. Your breathing is frantic, and you feel her hand on your arm again, because you haven’t stopped crying, but this time she comes up to kiss you. You wonder if this will be the last time. 

Twenty seconds. They’ve set off the last bomb, the statue now fully covered in ink. They stumble off the grind rail, falling into the ink below, and for a few seconds they disappear. 

Ten seconds. Your grip on your laptop is deadly- you can feel the metal straining and almost breaking beneath your fingers as you frantically search for that little octoling, but you’ve completely lost track of them.

Time’s up. You hold your breath, reaching out for your love as she drops onto the lower platform, and stare into that painful neon pink for a scattered splattering of blue, any sign that they might be injured. 

You cover your ears and cringe- that deafening scream must have been heard all throughout the city. You keep watching, and as the statue explodes in that same pink you hear something fall onto the platform. Without any hesitation, you drop, sliding down the chains and landing with a soft gasp. 

They were laying there, completely motionless. You drop to your knees beside them and gently pull them into your arms. You try to count out three heartbeats. 

There isn’t even one. 

Immediately, you start hyperventilating, your mind’s screams becoming your throat’s wails- it’s not fair, they’re too young to go. They haven’t even had a chance to live, and now it was taken away, their last three minutes being spent in fear. 

Your girlfriend kneels beside you and pulls you into a small hug. She lays her head on your shoulder and lets you cry, gently taking the child’s hand while the old captain solemnly holds his hat to his chest and the agent nearby gives a respectful salute.

Tears blur your vision even more than it already was as you stare down at the lifeless expression the younger octoling’s face holds. You’ve long since lost your voice from screaming out at the open sea in a blur of despair and rage- the kind of rage a new mother would feel after losing her only child.

There’s coughing from below you, and you tightly hug them because they’re okay, slowly waking up and coming to in your arms. They push against your chest and wheeze, but you hear them laughing. 

When they let go of you, you turn and tackle your girlfriend, your beloved, in an overzealous kiss on the mouth because you’re so happy that everything is going to be okay. 

You ask to go home and the helicopter turns to fly off toward the city. Your fingers intertwine with your girlfriend’s while she pulls you back into that kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (special thanks to lemugrub on discord for suggesting agent 8 death scare)
> 
> i’m going to go ahead and work on tomorrow’s prompt now, even though i’d love to do today’s. maybe i’ll do that after i’m finished.


End file.
